On Friday night, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in their season opener at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, Brazil.
While Kansas City had a rough game in all three phases, Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert cooked the Chiefs’ defense, recording 25 completions on 34 attempts for 318 yards and three touchdowns. It was only his third career victory over Kansas City — and his passer rating of 131.7 was the second highest of his career. It was also Jim Harbaugh’s first victory over the Chiefs since becoming the Chargers’ head coach.
Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit struggled to generate pressure against the Los Angeles offensive line — and had multiple coverage miscues, too.
But the Chargers also played smart situational football.
Situational advantages on early downs
Los Angeles offensive coordinator Greg Roman consistently put Herbert in situations where he could succeed against the Chiefs’ defense, which looked a step slow throughout that game. That started early on.
On this first-down play, Los Angeles comes out in an offset I-formation with fulback Scott Matlock lined up as the H-back and an extra offensive lineman on the line of scrimmage. This heavy personnel package on an early down looks like a running play, so Kansas City stays in its base defense to stop it.
But on the snap, Herbert shows the ball and then pulls it. Even with Drue Tranquill coming, the extra bodies on the line solidify the Chargers’ pass protection, allowing Herbert to set up in the pocket. Los Angeles runs a modified flood look. The outside receiver clears space as the fullback runs an out route from the backfield. Meanwhile, the running back heads into the flat.
In a modified Cover 2 shell, the Chiefs’ Chamarri Conner and Trent McDuffie both end up on the outside receiver, which allows the fullback to be open on his route. Conner can’t reach him quickly enough, so the play results in a first down.
This was a great example of how the Chargers kept the Chiefs off balance, finding ways to pick up yardage while keeping Herbert clean.
Later, Los Angeles used a pre-snap alignment (and motion) to set up a score.
Before this snap, wide receiver Ladd McConkey comes across the formation, causing Kansas City safety Jaden Hicks to move across the secondary with him. At the snap, Hicks keys on wideout Quentin Johnston, who has now become his responsibility. Now Hicks is fully facing the opposite sideline — and with one cut, Johnston blows past him. The pass rush generates no pressure, allowing Herbert to deliver the ball on the dot.
With these unpredictable formations (and well-designed plays), the Chargers picked the Chiefs apart, getting big plays on early downs that helped them build a big lead.
But it was their third-down efficiency that helped them keep the lead.
Third downs
Los Angeles converted over half of their third downs, frustrating Kansas City to no end. There were multiple instances in which the Chiefs’ defensive line couldn’t get any pressure. Time after time, Herbert found open targets, moving the sticks by simply taking what the defense was giving him.
Kansas City recorded three sacks on Friday — two from blitzes by linebacker Drue Tranquill and another when defensive end George Karlaftis brought Herbert down on a scramble — but these weren’t indicators of true pressure. Herbert consistently had all day to throw the ball — and since the Chiefs’ secondary was playing very conservatively, the Los Angeles wideouts had many chances at easy grabs for first downs.
The Chargers used their game plan to convert key third downs — and also to set up fourth-down conversions.
On this third-and-15, Kristian Fulton lines up man-to-man on Johnston. Initially, he plays decent coverage — but when Johnston breaks, Fulton is outleveraged to the inside. Herbert has all the time in the world to fire a perfect pass over the middle. This is because Chris Jones is being doubled by the tight end and right tackle on the edge — while on the inside, Charles Omenihu is being doubled by the center and right guard. Karlaftis and Mike Danna attempt a twist, but can’t get home.
These pass-rushing failures occurred throughout the game. The Chiefs’ frustration finally boiled over at a bad time.
The big play at the end
On the game-icing drive, Kansas City had Los Angeles in another third-and-long situation with a chance to get the ball back to its offense. Herbert converted again — but this time, it was with his legs.
After being doubled throughout the night, Jones finally gets a one-on-one pass-rushing opportunity from the edge. He uses a quick swipe to penetrate the B-gap, but this allows Herbert to scramble out of the pocket, running for the first down that seals the game.
While Jones didn’t play assignment-sound football on this rep, it’s hard to fault him. After Herbert had gutted the Chiefs through four quarters, someone had to step up and create pressure. Jones was just trying to do what he does: make a play in a high-leverage situation. In this instance, the Kansas City defense should have had a spy — or another looping defensive player — to contain Herbert in the flat. That seems more like a failure on the coaching staff.
The bottom line
On Friday night, Herbert played the game of his career — while the Chiefs played a very forgettable one. Still, Herbert is a good quarterback — and he showed it.
Unfortunately, Kansas City will face many good quarterbacks in 2025.
The season is young, so there is no reason to panic. But there should be no doubt: the Chiefs’ pass rush — and their coverage — will need to improve drastically. Right away.
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